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Jed
and the Wishing Apple
by Carolyn
Watson Dubisch
Deep
in the enchanted forest of Eer was a great and tall tree. This
beautiful tree had a smooth white trunk, shining silver leaves,
and high up in its branches hung one bright red apple.
The legend was that anyone who could climb to the top of the tree
and take a bite from the apple would be granted a wish. However
to even get to the tree was a difficult task. It was surrounded
by sharp, thorny bushes, and patches of quick sand. The trunk
was so smooth and slippery that climbing just a few feet was a
great challenge. For those who were strong enough to climb the
first twenty feet to where the branches begin, the crows are there
waiting. Big, black, and screeching, the crows flapped about and
pecked the fingers of anyone so bold as to get near the apple.
In the nearby village, stories abound of men and women who left
with great fanfare in their quest for the apple, only to disappear
forever into the mysterious forest. The village was small and
dingy. The local farms hadn't yielded a good crop in several years
and many people were destitute.
Jed was a young man who had lived in the village his whole life.
He was small for his age and quite skinny. Many of the locals
teased him about his size, for he was too small to wrestle with
the other young men.
One day a royal caravan came to the little village. They had lost
their way through the forest, and stopped for food and rest.
Like the rest of the village, Jed came to watch as the many horses
entered the town. That was the first time he saw her. Princess
Amelia rode into town atop a white stallion. Her long blond hair
flowed behind her as she passed. She looked right at Jed with
her bright green eyes and smiled kindly.From that moment on, Jed
was in love. He knew he must somehow marry the princess. However,
he also knew he was much too poor and much too small for the beautiful
Princess Amelia.
So the next morning Jed packed his bag. In it he put a length
of rope, a large leather belt, a thick pair of work gloves and
a can of worms. He put on his rubber boots and set out on his
journey to the mystical tree.
As he left town, many people laughed at Jed. For hundreds of strong
and powerful warriors had quested after the apple and failed.
On his first day in the enchanted forest, Jed spied a large white
moth struggling in a spider's web. Jed, being a kind man, gently
freed the panicked moth. To his surprise, the moth transformed
into a beautiful fairy.
"Oh, thank you for saving me!" The fairy's voice was
a beautiful chime that filled the air.
"How could a little spider trap a powerful fairy?"
"When I am in the shape of a moth, I truly am a little moth,
and even a spider can hurt me. "
"Why then would one wish to be a moth?" Jed puzzled
The fairy's eyes twinkled with joy, "Oh to be a moth. To
float on the breeze, fluttering higher and higher, then gliding
down and down , with the wind all around. It's like a magic all
it's own. For rescuing me I shall give you a gift."
"Please don't turn me into a moth!"
The fairy laughed like a tinkling bell. " No, not if you
don't wish it. I shall give you this." She held out a shining
green stone. "Tie it to the end of your rope and it will
always bring you to safety." Jed gratefully accepted the
gift and continued on his way.
Soon, Jed came to a clearing in the woods. As he entered it he
heard the frightened whimpering of a small animal. There, in a
hunter's trap, was a little wolf pup. Out of pity, Jed carefully
freed the little pup.
Suddenly he was surrounded by an entire pack of wolves. A large
white wolf came forward and began to speak.
"You have saved my son, so, in gratitude, I give you this.
It is the hide of a unicorn. If you wrap it around yourself nothing
can pierce it, for it contains powerful and pure magic."
Gratefully, Jed accepted the gift and placed it in his bag.
That evening, Jed finally caught sight of the tree. Jed approached
the tree with great anticipation. As he got closer, he stopped
to peer towards the top for a glimpse of the coveted apple. Just
as he caught sight of the lone dangling fruit he realized his
feet were fixed to the ground. Alarmed, he pulled with his right
foot, and then his left, and watched in a panic as the ground
began to swallow him whole.
Thinking quickly, he rummaged through his bag and found the magic
stone with the rope attached. The green rock flew from his hand
as if possessed. Clinging to the end of the rope, the rock forcefully
pulled him out from the quicksand. A loud sucking sound filled
his ears as he emerged and Jed lay on the ground gasping. Then,
slowly, he returned to his feet, which by some miracle were still
inside his rubber boots.
He brushed himself off as best he could, and continued on his
mission towards the shining and magical tree. With the tree so
close, Jed moved faster now, as if it summoned him. So fast, in
fact, that he was deep in the thorny bushes before he realized
his clothes were nearly shredded and his legs and lower body were
covered with gashes.
Jed retrieved the unicorn's hide from his bag and wrapped it about
his waist. Effortlessly, he made his way through the vast patch
of bushes to the small clearing at the base of the tree.Here,
he gingerly wrapped his wounds with his shredded clothes. Then
he took the large leather belt from his bag and loosely strapped
it around his mid-section and to the smooth trunk of the towering
tree.
With the belt in place to help his climb, Jed was able to reach
the very top of the tree trunk, to where the branches began. Now
he could clearly see the shining red apple near the very top.
As Jed reached for the closest branch a huge black crow swooped
at his head. Jed secured himself against the branches and reached
in his bag. He put on his work gloves to protect his hands from
the crows' sharp beaks. Then he tossed the can of worms into the
air. As it exploded at the base of the tree, the flock of crows
fled their post and descended on the wiggling worms.
Jed quickly climbed to the top. Grasping the apple in his hand
he picked it and placed it in his bag. Then, Jed descended down
the trunk, and began his journey home.
Upon his return, villagers far and wide gathered in celebration.
After taking the first bite of the wishing apple, Jed passed it
on to the nearest person, and everyone in the crowd got to take
a magical bite.
Anyone visiting the village today would find a prosperous city
filled with kind and generous people. On a hill, nearby, they'd
find a shining castle, where the good Prince Jed and the beautiful
Princess Amelia reside. There, in the throne room, on a marble
pedestal sits an old apple core.
The
End
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize,
Poet Laureate of the United States, winner of Caldecott and
Newberry medals are all wonderful achievements that have little
to do with Carolyn Watson Dubisch. However if I were to say
that Carolyn is an 84 year-old chain smoker from Texas, who
likes to raise chickens and has a glass eye, I'd be a bald faced
liar.
Carolyn Watson Dubisch is actually a red headed woman in her
early thirties. She's the mother of three little girls who are
as beautiful and wonderful as they are loud. She's married to
the world famous artist, Mike Dubisch, and writes children's
stories for books, magazines, and various other media. Her illustrations
have also appeared in a large number of publications. She likes
chickens, but raising them would not "fit in" with
her lifestyle at this time. Visit her web site at
http://hometown.aol.com/cwatsond/myhomepage/chatprofile.html
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